Every year, I design 9 or 10 individual
Mardi Gras parades for two of the locally-based builders in
Mobile, AL-- Carnival Artists and Mirthco, Inc. And, every year, there is usually some '
over-lap', as some of the
Krewes (Mardi Gras organizations) will have
identical or
very similiar themes with one another, or one from a previous year.
The challenge for
me is to keep the designs original, while maintaining accuracy and balance,
WITHOUT duplicating an existing or simultaneously-constructed float. At times this becomes difficult, as the season's particular float chairman for the parade (
usually in one of the women's organizations) has been waiting and wanting this theme for years. This year was no exception, as both
The Mobile Mystics and the
Maids of Jubilee both had a "
James Bond"-related parade (
and ball) subject matter.
Of course, "
Live & Let Die" was included in both parades. In the
MOJ's, we used a female figure- the
Jane Seymour character- as a front figure, with voodoo theme completing the design, shown below.
For the Mystics, I initially presented the voodoo chief, with other iconic images from the film.
Due to the black front figure, this was deemed as possibly being considered 'racist' -even though he was a prominent and recognizeable character in the film. Below is the re-designed float,
with the airborne boat moved to the front, and the center ride made into swamp background. I thought it lost a little, but I am merely the draftsman. All of the designs can be seen over
HERE on the
Mardi Gras pages.
